Back to the BC - Or, How I learned to stop worrying about trim and came to love the Poodle Jacket

Or not

I've been spending some time in Asia, but didn't expect to have time to
dive. As luck would have it, Fearless Leader (tm) decided to tour SE
Asia, making it impossible to get hotel rooms in Singapore for the week
of November 13th. Since I was supposed to fly back to S'pore that week
and couldn't find a place to stay, I figured I'd take a small detour
and visit Phuket once again.

The diving was as I remembered it - warm, easy, with so-so visibility
(20~30ft). A school of lionfish, several morays and a seriously big sea
snake were all on display, and I happily remembered how much I enjoyed
diving in this part of the world. What wasn't the same this time was
the gear - I had to rent everything, including a "regular" jacket style
BC. I hadn't used one of these in ~200 dives and had forgotten what
it's like to dive with one. Wow. I hadn't realized just how badly out
of trim you could be with one of these, and how hard it is to get all
the air out of them. I'm a long ways from Mike Gray's ideal of no
weight and no air cell, but it was still quite an eye opener to dive
with one of these again. Next trip (late January), my own gear comes
with me.

Alan

In article <eUdbh.12360$k6.9585@bignews8.bellsouth.net>, Lee Bell
<pleebell2@bellsouth.net> wrote:

> Alan Street wrote
>
> > I'm a long ways from Mike Gray's ideal of no weight and no air cell. . .
>
> Mike has very good trim and buoyancy control, but I'm the one that dives
> with no weights and no gas in the wing . . . no matter how many times Bob
> says it's not possible. I think Mike respects my diving, but I doubt he
> considers it "ideal."
>
> Lee
>
>

I stand corrected. All the more reason for me to make it out there and
dive with you guys.

Alan

Alan Street wrote:

> In article <eUdbh.12360$k6.9585@bignews8.bellsouth.net>, Lee Bell
> <pleebell2@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>
>>Alan Street wrote
>>
>>
>>>I'm a long ways from Mike Gray's ideal of no weight and no air cell. . .
>>
>>Mike has very good trim and buoyancy control, but I'm the one that dives
>>with no weights and no gas in the wing . . . no matter how many times Bob
>>says it's not possible. I think Mike respects my diving, but I doubt he
>>considers it "ideal."
>>
>>Lee
>>
>>
>
>
> I stand corrected. All the more reason for me to make it out there and
> dive with you guys.
>
> Alan
>
Too late, the water's getting too damned cold.

On Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:54:02 GMT, mike gray <omgray@worldnet.att.net>
wrote:

>Alan Street wrote:
>
>> In article <eUdbh.12360$k6.9585@bignews8.bellsouth.net>, Lee Bell
>> <pleebell2@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Alan Street wrote
>>>
>>>
>>>>I'm a long ways from Mike Gray's ideal of no weight and no air cell. . .
>>>
>>>Mike has very good trim and buoyancy control, but I'm the one that dives
>>>with no weights and no gas in the wing . . . no matter how many times Bob
>>>says it's not possible. I think Mike respects my diving, but I doubt he
>>>considers it "ideal."
>>>
>>>Lee
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> I stand corrected. All the more reason for me to make it out there and
>> dive with you guys.
>>
>> Alan
>>
>Too late, the water's getting too damned cold.

I'll drop the dry suit at Lee's and you'll be good to go!

Rick Simms

mike gray wrote

> Awww, ya do alright for an old guy.

Look who's talking.

"mike gray" <omgray@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:8ggbh.387174$QZ1.215962@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

> Hanging in my closet is a nearly mint condition 1985ish SeaTec Manta,
> probably the best jacket style BC ever made (aside from the crappy tank
> band buckles).
>
> I think I may get it out and dive it, just to remind myself how right
> you are.
>
> m
>
> p.s. Anyone want to buy a nearly mint SeaTec Manta?

No thanks, I have an ATPAC and a Fenzy.

Scott wrote:

> "mike gray" <omgray@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:8ggbh.387174$QZ1.215962@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>
>
>>Hanging in my closet is a nearly mint condition 1985ish SeaTec Manta,
>>probably the best jacket style BC ever made (aside from the crappy tank
>>band buckles).
>>
>>I think I may get it out and dive it, just to remind myself how right
>>you are.
>>
>>m
>>
>>p.s. Anyone want to buy a nearly mint SeaTec Manta?
>
>
> No thanks, I have an ATPAC and a Fenzy.
>
>
>
>
Trade?

"mike gray" <omgray@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:JXkbh.120141$Fi1.93545@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

> > No thanks, I have an ATPAC and a Fenzy.

> Trade?

No chance, we keep them hanging around so that people ask.

The Fenzy still works (but the bottle is out of hydro).

"Lee Bell" wrote

>> We're gonna send a big trucking Marine on a retrieval mission to drag
>> you to South Florida.
>
> To do us any good, we have to get the trucking Marine to actually come
> back to Florida, well, our part of Florida.

That's a fact.......

On Wed, 29 Nov 2006 23:06:17 -0500, Lee Bell wrote:
> To do us any good, we have to get the trucking Marine to actually come
> back to Florida, well, our part of Florida.

He hasn't figured out that there is something other than I-10 in Florida?